Innocence
by Kari Kurofai
Summary: Ashes, ashes, we all fall down . . . MattxMello part 7 for 100 themes


**Innocence**

_Ring around the rosy, a pocket full of posies. Ashes, ashes . . . We all fall down . . ._

Mello ran into the building, surrounded by the other orphans chattering and laughing loudly. He glanced over his shoulder, catching sight of the room where Near was crouched over a board game and scowled. God he hated that kid, stupid first place Near. He turned, sliding across the hardwood floor to stand outside the doorway, peering in with a frown. Someone else was inside the room too, that was strange.

The other child was a bit younger than Mello, but older than Near. He was huddled in the far corner, his head against his knees and his arms wrapped tightly around his legs. His russet-red hair covered his eyes, and Mello couldn't make out his expression, but he could tell from the position the child was sitting in that it wasn't a happy one.

Slowly, he sidled into the room, ignoring Near completely, though he could feel the white haired boy's stare drilling into his back. He flopped down on the carpet across from the boy in the corner, studying him curiously. Obviously he must be new to the orphanage, as Mello had never seen him before. But other than that, he wasn't very interesting, except for the fact that he was in Near's hangout. Which Mello could not allow. He had to make sure that Near didn't have any friends, it was one of his goals in life.

"Hey, kid, what are you doing here?" He growled finally.

The child jumped, green eyes looking more scared than startled. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but immediately closed it again, sucking in a big breath and ending it in an audible hiccup. Mello raised an eyebrow at him, watching this whole process with interest. Now that he looked at him closer, the kid was probably the same age as him. "I asked you a question," he deadpanned, growing impatient.

The boys sniffed, looking away, "I . . . My mom and dad . . . They died, two days ago . . ." He hiccupped again, rubbing at his eyes fiercely, though there were no tears there.

Oh. Mello hesitated now, unsure of what to say. Most children here were abandoned or orphaned at birth. If this kid was here now, that meant that he must be _smart_, or Whammy's house wouldn't have been his destination. Another rival, joy. "How did they die?" he asked finally.

"C-car accident," the boy choked out.

Mello narrowed his eyes. This boy was trying really hard not to cry, though Mello didn't know why. It was a silly thing to do, really. He sighed, standing up and holding out a hand towards the boy, "Come on."

"Huh?"

The blond rolled his eyes, "I said come on," he reached down, grasping the boy's hand in his own, pulling him up and leading him out of the room and down the hall. He glanced into a few of the bedrooms, and found one that was unoccupied, his own to be exact. He pushed the boy onto his bunk, closing the door behind him and sitting down on the bed opposite him. "Okay, you can cry now."

The redhead looked up at him, dazed, "What?"

Mello waved his hand absently, looking away, "Are you hard of hearing? I told you you could cry now. There's no one else here but me, and I won't tell." He looked down at his feet, starting to feel a bit awkward about the whole situation.

There was a sob, and the boy buried his fade in his hands, tears spilling out of his eyes. Mello kept his gaze on the ground, acting as though he wasn't even in the room. It was only after the room grew silent again that he looked up.

"Um, hey . . . What's your name?" he asked quietly, watching the other boy rub his eyes with his stripped sleeves. "The one Whammy House assigned you, I have no interest in you real name for now."

"M-Matt," the boy said, looking up at him.

Mello smirked, "Well, I'm Mello. And from now on, your going to stick with me, okay?"

^-^ ^-^ ^-^

"Higher Matt! Higher! I can't reach it!" Mello exclaimed, teetering on the taller boy's shoulders as he reached up into the lowest boughs of a tree.

Matt groaned, trying his best to stand up a bit straighter, which was hard to do with Mello on his shoulders like that. "What _are_ you doing anyways? This is ridiculous!"

The blond leapt up, catching the lowest branch, making Matt lose his balance and topple to the ground. He heaved himself up into the tree, pulling something out of his pocket and beginning to tie it to one of the higher branches, hangman fashion.

The other boy lay face down in the grass, mumbling something under his

breath as he rolled over to stare up at his companion. "Is that _Near's_ robot?" He asked incredulously, eyes widening as he caught sight of the toy Mello was "hanging" from the branch.

"Maybe," Mello smirked.

"Why do you have it?"

The blonde smiled innocently, "What do you mean? I'm only playing with it."

Matt rolled his eyes, "Your definition of 'playing' is sadistic, do you know that?" He started to stand back up, only to fall over again with a huff as the wind was knocked out of him, Mello having jumped out of the tree to land right on top of him.

"But he deserves it," Mello said bluntly, flattening Matt even more onto the ground as he lay on top of him. "He's number one, and I should be number one, not him. He doesn't even really care about L." He tilted his head to the side, "You could have been number one, Matt. You're smarter than Near. Why didn't you accept when L said he'd choose you as his successor? Now you're in third place."

"I don't have a death wish," Matt muttered, regaining his breath, staring up at the robot hanging from the tree as if to prove his point. "And I don't really want to be the next L, I think it's silly."

"But what if I get chosen to be L?" Mello asked, eyes shining, "What will you do then?"

Matt hesitated a moment, smile slowly spreading across his face, "Hmm? I think . . . That I would follow you. If you become the next L or not, I have to stay at your side."

Mello laughed, "You're so weird," he smirked, reaching into his pockets and pulling something out. He pulled the item over Matt's head, snapping it across his forehead. "Here, I found these for you."

The other boy reached up, feeling the things with interest. "Skiing goggles? But I don't ski, Mello. And did you snitch these?" "Maybe," the blond sneered. "But you should wear them, they look cool."

"Cool?"

"Yup. And don't ever loose them either, I'm not really into giving gifts, so you better take care of them," Mello snorted.

Matt laughed, "Yeah, okay. I'll wear them."

^-^ ^-^ ^-^

"Mello?" his voice was hesitant as he entered the room, green eyes glazed.

The blond was sitting on the couch, his head in his hands so that the scars on the left side of his face were nearly hidden by his palms. Matt approached him slowly, kneeling down beside him on the couch, pulling the goggles off his eyes and up onto his forehead. "Mello . . . Are we really going to go through with this? Kidnap one of Kira's closest supporters? It's . . . It's suicide . . ."

Mello shook his head, not looking up at his companion, "You know it's the only way, Matt."

"It's not!" the redhead burst out, anguish overwhelming him. "Let Near handle everything, please! You don't need to do this!" He lowered his head, shoulder's shaking. "It's . . . I don't want to lose you . . ."

"If this goes on much longer, Kira will find out Near's real name. And if he truly is Light Yagami, then he already knows mine." He looked up, smiling sadly, "I'll die either way, Matt. But if I do this, Near can catch that bastard."

"But Mello-"

"You can leave, Matt," Mello interrupted. "I won't let you come with me this time."

Matt looked startled, and his eyes grew dark, "No. I won't." He reached out, pulling the blond into his arms, ignoring the struggle and muffled protest. "I said that I would always go where Mello goes. And I'm not going to stop now." He rested his cheek against the top of Mello's head, closing his eyes, "I . . . Promised to follow you."

"Matt, please don't," Mello whispered hoarsely, his fingers twining into the back of the other's fluffy stripped vest. "Please . . ."

"I'll be the diversion so that you can get away, at least for a little while," Matt murmured. "So . . . Let's just pray that this works, okay?"

Mello mumbled something inaudible against Matt's stripped shirt, shaking his head. The taller boy opened his eyes again, "Mello . . . It's okay to cry now," he whispered, recalling the words from years ago. "I . . . I won't tell anyone . . ."

The blond laughed quietly, arms wrapping around the other as he felt the tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. "Wh-where I go, you always follow, huh?"

"Yes, always," Mat whispered. "Wherever you go, I will be right behind you."

_Ashes, ashes . . . We all fall down . . ._

RANDOM AUTHOR RAMBLE

Part eight for the 100 themes project. I would love to one day write a multi chapter on these two, but I have my hands full right now. D: and I would title it after the song at the beginning and the end too. You do all know that that old game is really a song about death, right? That's why I used it as an opening line and a closing one. For Matt and Mello. *tears up* anywho . . . Review?


End file.
